The semiconductor industry is a national strategic emerging industry, and the independent control of its core technologies is crucial to national security and industrial development. The semiconductor industry chain includes multiple links such as design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, and each of these links requires the use of various analytical instruments. With the rapid development of the semiconductor industry, the demand for analytical instruments is constantly increasing. However, at present, some high-end analytical instruments in the semiconductor industry still rely on imports, which to a certain extent restricts the independent control capability of China's semiconductor industry. Therefore, the application breakthrough of domestic analytical instruments in the semiconductor industry has become a key link to improve the level of independent control of technologies.
Recently, the EXPEC 7350S ICP-MS/MS from Puyu Technology has achieved a new breakthrough in domestic application in leading domestic semiconductor enterprises. It has shown significant advantages especially in solving the testing of impurities in electronic-grade chemicals and metal ion contamination on wafer surfaces, becoming a domestic instrument that can effectively replace imported solutions.
In recent years, with the continuous expansion of silicon wafer size and the significant reduction of the critical size of semiconductor components, the harshness of manufacturing processes has reached an unprecedented level. This trend has directly led to increasingly strict standards for controlling contamination elements on silicon wafer surfaces. In order to ensure that the content of contamination elements on silicon wafer surfaces is maintained at the lowest level, strict contamination control measures must be implemented in the production process and all links of semiconductor component manufacturing to minimize contamination. At the same time, the impurity content of various chemicals used in the production process also needs to be closely monitored and managed to ensure that their quality meets high standards. According to relevant statistics, up to 50% of yield losses in the semiconductor component manufacturing industry can be attributed to trace impurity contamination. This data highlights the importance of controlling contamination elements for improving the yield of the semiconductor manufacturing industry.
As the first domestic commercial triple quadrupole ICP-MS/MS, EXPEC 7350S has effectively realized the detection of impurities in electronic-grade chemicals and metal ions on wafer surfaces by virtue of its advantages such as ultra-low detection capability, strong interference removal capability and flexible combination.
Electronic-grade chemicals encompass a wide range of substances, including inorganic reagents such as ultrapure water, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, hydrofluoric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and phosphoric acid; organic reagents like viscous photoresists and liquid crystal materials; highly volatile cleaning solvents such as acetone, methanol, toluene, xylene, and IPA; and strongly alkaline etching reagents like TMAH. With diverse types and varying analytical methods, they pose significant challenges to analysis.
As China gradually moves toward advanced manufacturing processes, the requirement for chemical purity is continuously increasing. Currently, most applications use G5-grade chemicals, where each impurity element is required to be less than 10ng/L (10⁻¹¹). Facing ultra-high-purity chemicals with diverse matrices and extremely low impurity limits, the new-generation triple quadrupole EXPEC 7350S ICP-MS can effectively meet the quality control requirements of G3 to G5-grade chemicals. It has been applied in process quality control of G5-grade reagents such as nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and IPA in domestic advanced-process chip manufacturing enterprises and 8+12-inch integrated circuit manufacturing enterprises.
Compared with the 300mm (12-inch) silicon wafers, which dominate the international mainstream production capacity, many domestic monocrystalline silicon industrial products are still 150mm (6-inch) and 200mm (8-inch) in diameter. In recent years, supported by national industrial policies, China's semiconductor industry has developed rapidly, with 300mm silicon wafers rising rapidly to take a dominant position. Moreover, as domestic 28nm process technology matures and the development of advanced 7-14nm processes progresses, the requirements for metal ions on wafer surfaces have become increasingly stringent.
The self-developed automated analysis solution combining EXPEC 7350S triple quadrupole ICP-MS from Puyu Technology can achieve a detection capability of 5E6~5E7 atoms/cm² for metal ions on wafer surfaces, effectively replacing the existing imported analysis solutions in domestic FABs. Currently, the combined VPD (Vapor Phase Decomposition) and 7350S solution has been implemented in leading domestic 12-inch silicon wafer manufacturers and compound semiconductor enterprises, enabling automated monitoring of metal ion contamination on wafer surfaces and meeting the quality control requirements of 8-12-inch silicon wafer manufacturers and compound semiconductor enterprises.
Against the backdrop where the high-end semiconductor instrument market has long been dominated by foreign manufacturers, the breakthroughs achieved by Puyu Technology are undoubtedly of profound significance. To meet the unique needs of the semiconductor industry, Puyu Technology has carried out in-depth customization and optimization. By conducting rigorous application data verification in ultra-clean environments, Puyu Technology has ensured the stability and reliability of its instruments under extremely clean conditions, thereby providing solid and powerful technical support for R&D innovation and manufacturing in the semiconductor industry.
Currently, Puyu Technology has established a complete set of industry solutions covering metal ion detection in semiconductor manufacturing processes, micro-pollutant gas monitoring, and semiconductor specialty gas analysis. In addition, the company has actively joined hands with many domestic scientific research institutions and institutions of higher learning to vigorously promote scientific research cooperation and talent training projects, laying a more solid foundation for the sustained and vigorous development of China's scientific instruments in high-precision and cutting-edge industries.
As a landmark achievement of the "National Major Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project", since the successful launch of the first single quadrupole ICP-MS in 2013, it has undergone four iterations and upgrades, continuously achieving breakthroughs and innovations in core technologies and performance indicators. Subsequently, Puyu Technology took the lead in the industry by releasing China's first commercial triple quadrupole ICP-MS and high-resolution ICP-QTOF, setting a new benchmark with higher sensitivity and lower detection limits. With the continuous segmentation and growth of market demand, Puyu Technology has kept pace with the times, successively launching a series of innovative application scenarios and products such as mobile on-vehicle online monitoring, clinical mass spectrometry, and laboratory automation, accurately meeting users' customized analysis and testing needs. At the same time, the company has actively expanded into emerging fields such as clinical diagnosis, life sciences, semiconductor analysis, and industrial automation, demonstrating strong market insight and innovation capabilities.
After more than ten years of market trials and tests, Puyu Technology has won extensive praise and trust from a large number of users, and domestic ICP-MS has successfully achieved a historic leap from "catching up" to "running side by side". At the end of 2023, at the Qingshan Lake Innovation Base, Puyu Technology witnessed the historic moment when the 1000th set of the 7000-series ICP-MS officially rolled off the production line, marking a milestone breakthrough in the "domestic substitution" process of mass spectrometry instruments.
Entering 2024, the sales volume of Puyu Technology's ICP-MS has continued to lead the domestic market, forming a strong competitive situation with imported brands. This brilliant achievement is not only the inevitable result of Puyu Technology's continuous deepening of technical research and development and constant innovation, but also a vivid embodiment of its accurate grasp of market demand and flexible response to market changes.
Source: Xianning News Network
